Marti's Story
by Bluebird372
Summary: This story is about 4 siblings, all on a journey of selfdiscovery and true love. Join Marti, as she discovers what Derek and Casey really feel, and why Lizzie and Edwin moved so far away. When a family reunion takes place, Marti finds out what happened.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Okay, so the format of the story is going to be really confusing, but I'm willing to take that risk. Let me give you a little heads-up about the story.**

**Okay, so Marti's a teenager, and this story is mostly about her life and how her siblings fit into it. The chapter below is basically just a prologue, to see how things go. The rest of the chapters will be a lot more interesting. There WILL be a few flashbacks, so stay ready. The rest of the story will be written in siblings' POV and journal entries. This entire story will span at least 10-15 years of Marti's life, so stay ready!**

**BTW, this is not only about Marti; it's about Lizzie/Edwin and DASEY!!!! There are brief references to their parents. But, of course, parents ain't IMPORTANT!!!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own LWD or any characters from the story. happy?  
**

"Marti, what are you up to, now?" asked Derek, after noticing the conspicuous smile that slightly lifted up the corners of her mouth. It was the afternoon, and Derek was sharing a little snack with his 16-year-old sister, Marti. They had, together, prepared grilled cheese sandwiches and a glass of cold milk. "So? Are you going to tell me, or are you just going to give me those weird looks?" Derek inquired humorously.

Marti just laughed and said excitedly, "Okay, first, you have to promise me that you won't tell Mom, or Dad, or Nora, because I might not even–"

"Will you just tell me? I won't let anyone know, but you have got to tell me first," said Derek impatiently, taking a big bite out of his grilled cheese.

"Okay, okay, I'll tell you," Marti took a deep breath, and continued, "So, when I went to the mall this morning with my friends, there was this cute boy from school I met, and we were talking, and he asked me what I was doing this Saturday. I said I didn't have any plans yet, so he asked me out!" After Marti finished, Derek didn't seem, well…ecstatic about it.

Derek's face was solemn. "Marti, aren't you a little too young to go on a date? By the way, where are you going? A movie, a club, pizza with friends--" Before Derek could finish, Marti interrupted.

Marti answered his questions irritably, "First of all, Derek, you started dating when you were, like, six, and secondly, we are just going to a little Italian restaurant with a few friends."

"I didn't start dating when I was six, I just teased pretty little girls," Derek said, still upset about Marti's date. Marti gave him a look, then finished her snack, quickly, and ran upstairs. Derek shook his head, finally understanding his big mistake.

Marti was so upset; she thought Derek will be happy for her. She decided she was going to do something to bother him. When she did think of something, she almost blurted out, "I got it!" but prevented herself from saying so.

The tall, brown-haired girl quickly picked up the phone and dialed Casey's phone number. Casey was her 24-year-old step-sister, but Marti never thought of her that way. About four years ago, Marti vowed that she would never call Casey a step-sister; after all, Casey was always like a biological sister to her. She had helped her with her first crush, school projects, makeup, and during her occasional breaks, the awkward stage of puberty, and what not. When Casey went off to college, Marti was eight years old, and couldn't take it. Lizzie was helpful at times, but seemed to be caught up in high school, herself. She felt all alone; the boys weren't much help either. Now, the house felt so empty; Edwin, Lizzie, Casey, and Derek were all scattered across the globe. Of course, Derek was here for a visit, but would be leaving soon. Lizzie and Edwin decided to get an international education and ended up going to the same university in Europe, even if the chances were low. Casey decided she wanted to be an actress, but then, seeing how much competition there was, applied to Harvard, to be a lawyer. Derek, on the other hand, aspired to be a hockey player, but when George sat him down, and explained to him how difficult it really was, Derek _was_ shaken a _bit_. Knowing Derek, though, he didn't listen to a word. Unfortunately, he didn't make it. He went back to a community college, and is currently trying to apply to a bigger university to get a degree in law (following in his father's footsteps.) Marti always thought this was the greatest job for Derek since he was so good at arguing. They would joke about it constantly.

Marti, at first, was so caught up in her thoughts that she almost ignored the fact that someone had picked up the phone on the other line. It was a man's voice. Great.

"Hello?" The deep, alluring voice was getting to Marti.

"Hello? Oh, hi, umm...I'm sorry if I'm bothering you right now, but...may I please speak to Casey...if she's there?"

There was a long pause, then finally the young man asked, "May I know who's speaking?"

"It's Marti, Casey's sister. Umm...if it isn't a convenient time, then I could just call back later..." Marti hoped that the man did not hear the fear in her voice.

"Oh, no, it's fine. It's just that Casey went out for a walk a few minutes ago, and she would like to know who called her. By the way, I'm Ryan, Casey's boyfriend." The young man seemed to make a sound that sounded like a laugh, but Marti wasn't sure.

"Oh, yeah, well thanks...I'll call back." Marti's heart was beating so hard, that she hoped Ryan didn't hear it.

* * *

Marti was so angry at Derek that, on the day he was leaving, she didn't even say goodbye. Even when Derek gave her a friendly kiss on the cheek. When Marti turned away, Derek just sighed and picked up his big brown suitcase.

_Wait a second,_ thought Marti. _I remember that suitcase..._ _but it was so long ago. Something happened between Derek and Casey; something did._

Nora interrupted her thoughts. "What's gotten into, hun?" Nora said jokingly, then added, "You know, Matt called this afternoon. Can you tell me who Matt is, Marti?" Nora said, smiling a little.


	2. Reunions

**A/N: Hey guys! I've been really busy at school, but thanks to the wondrous air quality here in Orange County, I get time to continue with my stories!**

**Ahem. Where were we?**

**Oh yes…**

* * *

**Reunions **

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**Chapter 2 **

It was a week since Derek left, and Marti was well into her summer vacation. The date with Matt wasn't as _tender_ as she'd hoped, since instead of _Little Italy's_, they had gone to_Lamppost Pizza_ with his football buddies. Nonetheless, Marti was over it, and enjoyed investing time into taking other boys' phone numbers. On this particular day, though, she was bored out of her mind. She had a summer project to do, but she would never be _that_desperate. Instead, she decided to try calling Casey, again.

She took her cell out of her pocket, since the home phone was about six feet from where she was, and dialed Casey's number.

_Casey, please pick up…Oh God! Don't let it be Ryan…_

Apparently, God wasn't very happy with her today.

"Hello?" the same deep, enthralling voice spoke through the speaker.

"Oh…hi Ryan! This is Marti…umm…Is Casey there?"

"Actually, yes! She just got back…_Hey baby, how did your day go? Marti called. Here you go."_—A bunch of undefined noises—

"Hey, Marti! What's up?" Casey's voice was clear and sounded really happy.

"Oh, nothing…just kind of bored…I wanted to know what you've been up to." Marti didn't exactly know what else to say. With Ryan probably sitting right next to Casey, Marti couldn't even think of talking about Matt.

"Oh, Smarti, I almost forgot! Now don't tell anyone, this. It's top secret! –_a shriek-_ You're the first to know…Ryan and I are getting married!"

Wow. Marti didn't really know what to say. Was she happy? Was she upset? Was she worried? She had no idea.

"Case, that's – that's great! Congrats! I wish I could be there…err…you could be here…"

"I know it's kind of sudden, so you need to remember not to tell Nora or George, all right? They would have a heart attack."

"No, umm…I don't think so…they can be very understanding at times…" Marti had absolutely no idea what she, herself, was saying. She was in complete shock.

-_PAUSE-_

"You okay, Marti?" Casey's voice through the receiver was starting to crack.

"Oh, yeah, I'm fine…umm…I just—I just broke up with my boyfriend…well, he's not exactly my boyfriend – well, not anymore…but…you know,"

"Oh, sweetie! I was just rambling on about my love life, and I forgot about you. So tell me all about it…"

Just as Marti was going to spill her guts out to her sister, Casey giggled, yelled "Stop it!" to Ryan, presumably, and said, "Oh! Can I talk to you later, hon? I'm getting late for a – a conference at my workplace…Bye!"

_Yeah right, _thought Marti, _more like a conference in her bed. __How young does she think I am?_ Marti hit the off button on her phone and adjusted her i-pod earphones. The rest of the day passed by pretty quickly.

* * *

Lizzie was coming home from college on the fine Sunday morning of another lazy summer day.

"Hey, Marti! Look at how you've grown! Are you still playing soccer?" Lizzie asked, her blue eyes wide.

_Gaak…what could I say to that?_ Marti thought, as she recalled her current height and the hope for a future growth spurt.

"Thanks…I guess…umm…no, I'm not playing soccer anymore…too much competition…the girls were, uh…cramping my style." _Stupid line…_

"Right…hey, speaking of that, did you go to that summer camp in the States?"

"Well, am I in the States right now?"

"Don't try to act smart with me!" Lizzie shrieked, and then giggled good-heartedly.

"Hey, I've heard that Edwin's University is only a few miles away from yours. Did you meet him there?" Marti asked earnestly. She shouldn't have. Lizzie's face went pale.

"Well…um…you know I drove there…" Lizzie scratched her head, gulped, and then continued, "…a couple of times…you know to…umm…get some books that he had, and that I didn't want to buy."

_Oh boy, that was awkward. Moving on…_

"Oh, I see…Well when is he coming?" Marti inquired.

"Marti! Lizzie! It's time for dinner!" Nora called from downstairs.

"Be there in a minute, Mom!" Lizzie said, then jumped off Marti's bed and ran downstairs.

Marti's POV

_Casey _called. After her naughtiness with Ryan I'd witnessed via the phone, I felt like vomiting when I heard her voice again. I motioned for Lizzie to pick it up, but she was reading a magazine.

"Hey, Marti! You're probably surprised that _I _called, myself, this time," Casey said.

"A little, I guess…So, what's up, Case? Would you like to talk to Nora or Dad?"

"Oh, you read my mind so well! My mom, please," Casey's voice faded out, and I went and gave the phone to Nora.

_**Blah, Blah, Blah….talk, talk, talk…chatter, uh-huh, yeah, yeah**_

"Oh, guess what, everybody? Casey's coming over! Oh, and I just realized, Casey doesn't know that Derek is coming, too! It's going to be like old times, isn't it?!!" Nora exclaimed, a little creepily. I'm glad she was happy, though – I guess Casey didn't tell her about her mischievous friend.

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The day on which Casey arrived had a clear blue sky and the fresh Canadian breeze was noticeable in the air. Lizzie and Casey were in tears when they "reunited" after all the hugs and kisses. Derek was coming next week, but I wish he'd come today. When Ryan got out of the car and attempted to pick up the luggage himself to impress everyone, whispered questions were being shot like cannons at Casey. Haha…that's what she gets.

Ryan was definitely good-looking. His hair was this fresh, new, short to medium length. It was dark red in color and his eyes were this really pretty brown. His arms – not so attractive, but, hey, no one's perfect, right?

Well, I decided to help Ryan with his luggage since he wasn't looking so good, and his hand seemed to brush upon something that shouldn't be brushed upon, but I disregarded that – probably just an accident.

Well, that afternoon passed pretty quickly. Emily, Casey's best friend, came over with her family, and attention was mostly on Casey, obviously. She then gulped down one too many martinis. She put an arm around Ryan, and coaxed him into a deep kiss.

Once that was done, Casey announced that she and Ryan were engaged and going to be married very soon. Though Nora and Dad were a bit disappointed that she would make such a big decision by herself after only a few months of dating, they applauded, and sat down Casey and Ryan for a long talk after everyone had left.

I was too tired and disgusted to go back down there, but Lizzie and I hung out in my room, talking about things (definitely not mentioning Edwin) until she, too, decided to get ready for bed.

After some time, I changed into a tank top and sweat pants to go to bed, when I heard a knocking on my door. I went to check, but the door swung open and I realized that I was only centimeters away from Ryan.

"I'm guessing this isn't the bathroom…" Ryan said, unconvincingly, but before he went out of the room, put a hand right over my spaghetti strap, and held it there, looking into my eyes, and said, "You have beautiful eyes."

I shrugged my shoulder out of his grip and informed him, "You know, the bathroom is right across from here."

"Thanks, babe," he said, and then left, much to my joy.

Ryan was sleeping in Derek's room for tonight, since Casey wasn't able to convince her mom that they were all grown-up now and deserved to sleep in the same room…I would definitely talk to Casey about _him_ tomorrow.

* * *

**A/N: So, do ye like it? Tell me what you think. Any kind of feedback is appreciated...**

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